17 Jul 2013

In thirty years of speaking at homeschool conferences, I had never attended the NCHE conference until this year. I was blown away. The cost of the conference was underpriced; the location was central; the vendor hall was full of more than anyone could expect; NCHE trustees were all engaged and super helpful; volunteers were friendly and knowledgeable; the facility was convenient in every respect, and the lineup of speakers was unparalleled. Simply put, all things considered, the NCHE conference is the best home school conference in America.”—Mike Smith

Wow! What a conference! I hope all who were in attendance were blessed, and those who weren’t will reap a blessing from those who were. One of the best things we can do with what we receive is to give it out to others. Every year the NCHE conference committee spends countless hours planning a conference specifically tailored for North Carolina homeschoolers. We want you to come to your state conference knowing that we have had you in mind all year.

There are really too many highlights to name. With a slate of 153 sessions, we hope that there was something for everyone. Our vendor hall was buzzing with activity the entire weekend and included many opportunities to purchase or win curriculum and other prizes. Some of the features of this year’s conference were: leader’s luncheon and special track of workshops, teen and alum dance and games social, alum social, children’s conference, basketball tournament, chess tournament, talent show, mentoring, college fair, and graduation. There were also new features this year. We offered a film camp for teens, a free newbie track for new homeschoolers. For the first time NCHE took on the big task of recording the 91 conference sessions and selling CDs and MP3s. What a job! The team was made up primarily of homeschool seniors and alums. There was a lot learned that will make next year go so much better.

Because of our proactive legislative activity this year we invited some of our state legislators along with Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest to the 2013 conference. After the Lieutenant Governor delivered a speech to the conference, an informal reception was held for him and the legislators, allowing personal interaction with conference attendees. We were happy to provide this opportunity to talk to our elected officials.

It is our desire every year to put together a conference that meets as many of the needs of North Carolina homeschoolers as possible. We are continually examining and asking questions about how we do things. We want to hear from you. Many of you filled out the conference evaluation form, but we like to give many opportunities to offer feedback. If you would like to give input to next year’s conference, please contact us through our website at nche.com or email conferencevp@nche.com.

Next year we will welcome Todd Wilson as the first of our featured speakers. Stay tuned to nche.com and our Facebook page for all conference information as we add more speakers. Make your plans now for May 22-24, 2014.

Nancy Coleman lives in western North Carolina in a small town named Horse Shoe, near Brevard. She and her husband, Tim, have a blended family of nine children, including two spouses, with one child still at home. Currently Nancy’s parents are also living with them. Nancy and Tim have a combined total of just under 41 years of homeschooling with six being the largest number of students at one time. Nancy was on the NCHE board from 1996-2014, serving in multiple roles. She was involved in the conference leadership for many years, serving as conference vice president for most of that time.

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